PIECE BY PIECE

I drove over to the hospital today to visit a neighbor who was admitted just before Christmas. We met this lady while she was working at the library shortly after we arrived in town. She was in a wheel chair, only had one leg, and was one of the most upbeat people you could ever meet.

I found out that she has diabetes and lost her leg after a spider bite.

After awhile, she began having trouble with her other leg. The infection started in her foot and slowly began moving up her leg. At one point, she finally told the doctor, "Just take everything below my knee and get it over with."

He did.

She was in the hospital and the nursing home for darn near close to a year it seems. She's been home for some time, learning to walk again with her spiffy-new titanium prostheses, and has been making good progress.

Then, just before Christmas, she had to go back to the hospital because she had developed a sore on her arm from resting it on the corner of the table too long and had to have corrective surgery for that. With her penchant for developing infections that require amputation, I found myself wondering just how long she would have her right arm. I hope it doesn't go that far.

Piece by piece, diabetes sucks.